The Development Of A Risk-cost Assessment Model For The Evaluation Of Fire Safety In Buildings

Fire safety and protection facilities to satisfy current regulatory requirements are a significant component of the cost of many buildings. With the development of systematic approaches to building fire safety and protection, designs based on fire safety engineering design techniques offer substantial cost savings while achieving satisfactory levels of life safety. This paper gives an outline of a collaborative research program undertaken by Victoria University of Technology, Australia and the National Research Council of Canada. The purpose of this research collaboration has been the development of a risk-cost assessment model which is used to identify cost-effective fire safety systems in buildings. A description is given of the application of such a model to building projects and code developments in both Australia and Canada.